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Acccording to a draft statement acquired from a council diplomat, the original press statement on Libya, which was drafted by the UK and distributed to the full 15-member council, "condemned the violence" against Libyan civilians, "deplored the repression" against peaceful demonstrators, and called for "steps to address the legitimate concerns of the population." China asked that these and other elements be removed. Language inserted by Chinese diplomats called for "calm" and "restraint."

But diplomats arrived to the meeting on the issue, Tuesday afternoon, ready to insist that such language alone was far too weak.China is loathe to allow the UN to react to incidents involving political repression or human rights. It has previously blocked statements condemning incidents of violent oppression in places like Myanmar and North Korea.